Bai Tang Gao - Pak Thong Koh (Chinese White Honeycomb Cake)
Course: Cakes, Dessert
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep Time: 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 30 minutesminutes
Ferment the batter:: 1 hourhour
Total Time: 1 hourhour45 minutesminutes
Servings: 7inch round cake (1.5" tall)
Author: Marvellina
Learn how to make Chinese bai tang gao or pak thong koh using this simple method using yeast to give you soft and bouncy texture. It's my childhood favorite steamed rice cake.
Put all ingredients for starter in a bowl and let it sits for 10-15 minutes until foamy while you prepare other things
Prepare the batter:
Mix all ingredients for batter and set aside
Make the syrup:
Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil and cook until sugar dissolves
Batter + hot syrup (cools down) + yeast mixture:
Pur the hot syrup into the batter and stir to mix. Let it comes to a warm temperature (no more than 110 F (43 C). It should feel comfortably warm. When it's warm, add the yeast mixture in and stir to mix everything. The batter is watery.
Proofing:
Cover and let it proof for 1 hour or until you see lots of bubbles. Place it in a warm place. I use my oven's bread proof function and it works great. Or you can turn on your oven to lowest temperature then turn off and open the door to let it cools down to lukewarm before putting the batter in (we don't want to kill the yeast!)
Add baking powder:
Bring the water in the steamer to a rolling boil before you add baking powder. I use the largest burner on my stove. Grease a 7-inch round or 6-inch square pan with some oil. You can use 8-inch round pan too, the cake will just be shorter. Stir the batter thoroughly to make sure the bubbles are mixed in and the flour that settles to the bottom is all combined. Add baking powder and stir one last time to mix everything. Pour into the prepared pan
Steam the cake:
Place this inside the steamer and lower heat to medium (not high heat). Remember that I use my largest burner on the stove, so I don't crank up the heat all the way up, as it's too hot. So I set it on medium and steam for the next 25-30 minutes
How to determine the cake is cooked through:
The top of the cake should be dry and not wet anymore. Insert a toothpick or chopstick into the cake and it should come out clean with a few sticky crumbs is okay as long as no wet batter. There is no need to wrap the lid with a cloth or cover the cake with a plate during steaming
Remove from the steamer and let it cool down completely before cutting. The cake may not be as white as the one you see at the restaurant or bakery shop. I don't have the exact answer for that but it could be the different types of rice flour that we use. So, don't be surprised if you don't get a sparkling white bai tang gao, you will still get a really good cake